What Are Your High Value Activities?

Charlie,

I love this concept! For a long time I've been completing tasks that aren't necessarily crucial to my online career.

Categorizing each task is a good way to better manage my workload. I also love your suggestion to do at least 1 HVA per day.

Definitely something to think about.

Christina

HVAs sound like a more intuitive version of the Pareto Principle. I try to increase my productivity by being more mindful of myself throughout the day, and occasionally stepping back and asking, "Is this getting me to where I want to go?" It's a small but simple way to re-evaluate your HVAs.

Thanks Charlie!

I technically dun own my own business, but as a 1-man internet marketer, and an employee, but high value activities are doing SEO for my websites, and brushing up my technical skills so I can be a more marketable employee

Charlie,

Thanks for this timely post.

Successful and wealthy people know that "detail complexity" is a prison from which one should escape.

In the early stages, these head honchos or top-notch professionals try to do everything on their own.

Sure, the "devil lies in the details," but those details need to be tackled by people you have hired.

When you delegate the details to others, you have more time to focus like a lazer-beam on high-priority tasks which add value.

For example, one of the major tasks of a CEO is networking. A CEO has to play the role of a boundary spanner. This is necessary for the growth of the business.

Thus, traveling to Paris and attending parties are not frills and fancy things, but necessary to build and maintain contacts. By contrast, the details can be handled by other people in the home office.

The insight here is to know the difference between what you have to do yourself and what you can afford to delegate to others. You just can't handle everything by yourself. Otherwise, you are setting yourself up for failure.

One of the hardest task a freelancer/entrepreneur can engage in is actually prioritizing his own tasks and focusing on those that really are worth your time, while delegating the rest if possible, keeping on track and never losing the end goal.
It's definitely easier said than done, but once you got it right, all the rest follows natural.

Charlie, I think you're right on here. I also want to offer my perspective on the difference between efficiency and effectiveness.

Efficiency usually describes how well or how quickly a specific task is being done. There's an unquestioned assumption that the task is of value. So of course, more efficient must be better.

To me, effectiveness almost always is in relationship to an external higher level objective than simply completing the task. What does completing this task help us to do better? And how much better?